iPhone storage not updating after deleting content

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iPhone storage not updating after deleting content

My iphone internal storage is full - I've been slowly working on it but it's gotten to a point where I'm kinda struggling. I deleted all my apps, even basic functionality apps like maps I've taken off my phone. I only kept Dropbox so I can move photos as needed. A majority of my photos are still taking up space on my phone and I know the videos take up a lot of space, I haven't been able to process everything and now I can't move photos onto my dropbox at all.

It's been a few days, I deleted a few videos, and I've been just straight uploading to Dropbox, then deleting a majority of the photos and videos and now I hit a road block. I've turned it off and on a few times, given it a day and the storage still isn't updating and I'm stuck in a limbo in the middle of trying to fix the problem myself. Advice? Also any advice to maximize storage during this time, like turning off icloud backup or something like that?

Posted on Nov 12, 2025 7:46 AM

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Answer 1

Nov 12, 2025 8:06 AM in response to lilaznlion

Many operations use the free space to move files around. If you run out of space, then those operations may not be able to be completed and, ironically, that can mean that even deleting doesn't work. Deleting small things might work when large files fail to delete, but maybe not. There are no tricks, and iCloud storage doesn't replace or add to onboard storage. iCloud Backup may not be working, but it shouldn't be using local storage, anyway.

Are you using "Optimize Storage?" If not, you should turn that on.

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